Lisa Benson for March 16, 2023

The Democrats are going to need coworkers who don’t sabotage their efforts at every turn.

Takes a lot of cooperation to fix 4 years of the last guy

Not to worry, Lisa. Republicans are going to pass legislation that will totally get rid of inflation and make the stock market go through the roof.

Right after they eliminate Social Security and Medicare and make the AR-15 the national gun.

Why do you believe that the Republicans plan to get rid of SS? Because Biden said it?

^ No, we believe it because Republicans said it!

Yes, Lisa, let’s cut taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy some more while not reducing expenditures, cut social welfare programs, you know, they typical Republican economic solutions.

Still trying to wish a recession into existence.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-job-growth-accelerates-january-wage-gains-moderate-2023-02-03/#:~:text=The%20economy%20added%20568%2C000%20more,the%204.5%20million%20previously%20reported.

Maybe if Biden stopped bailing out China and billionaires then banks might manage risk better.

If you think the economy today is rubble you really need to study history. And not some watered down conservative version.

Maybe it’s time to look at our economic system and realize that it can’t be fixed and do something else.

More banking deregulation, such as that instituted by the Trump administration, will do the trick for sure!

Powell rold congress about a year ago that the Fed could not control inflation as long as congress engaged in uncontrolled spending, and congress did it anyway.

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

I guess that these guys will keep saying the economy sucks, in spite of any evidence to the contrary until a Republican takes over. They they will say the economy is GREAT, despite any evidence to the contrary.

The economy is so bad, a company in Oklahoma has to expand operations to keep up with new orders for product from American companies that no longer want to buy from China.

The whole enchilada is “Build BACK Better.” If TFG hadn’t destroyed it, it wouldn’t be necessary to build it BACK.

Still BBB is a lot better than MAGA.

Odd political toon to publish considering the the connection to the current and previous two presidents. IF Powell is to have any blame then the credit also has to go to the GOPQ’s Fat Orange Clown, Cool Joe and TFG’s friend from Kenya.

Powell became a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors after being nominated to the post by President Barack Obama in 2012, he was subsequently elevated to chairman by President Donald Trump (succeeding Janet Yellen), and renominated to the position by President Joe Biden.

So Lisa admits that she’s against walls after all…

Inflation Adjusted Retail Sales Decline for the 7th Time in Ten MonthsIf you think consumer spending has been strong, you’re not paying attention.Real (inflation-adjusted) retail sales have gone nowhere for a year. Actually, they are negative from a year ago. Sales peaked at 236,202 on the third and final Covid fiscal stimulus and have generally trended lower since then, albeit in a choppy manner. The notion of strong consumer spending is an inflation mirage.

Wages have not kept up with inflation so real spending is in decline.

This morning the Census Department released Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services for February.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February 2023, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $697.9 billion, down 0.4 percent (±0.5 percent)* from the previous month, but up 5.4 percent (±0.7 percent) above February 2022. Total sales for the December 2022 through February 2023 period were up 6.4 percent (±0.4 percent) from the same period a year ago. The December 2022 to January 2023 percent change was revised from up 3.0 percent (±0.5 percent) to up 3.2 percent (±0.3 percent).Retail trade sales were down 0.1 percent (±0.5 percent)* from January 2023, but up 4.0 percent (±0.7 percent) above last year. Food services and drinking places were up 15.3 percent (±2.6 percent) from February 2022, while general merchandise stores were up 10.5 percent (±0.2 percent) from last year.

A key point to note is that retail and food services sales are adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for inflation.-Mish Talk

Joe Biden’s partisanship helped make the Silicon Valley Bank failure possible.Silicon Valley Bank made a huge mistake by borrowing short term and then parking money in long-term bonds. When interest rates rose, assets lost value, and SVB was put in a perilous position.

The Fed wouldn’t have been compelled to aggressively raise interest rates if Biden had acted more like a responsible statesman rather than a cynical partisan. Now the Fed has to think twice about easing growth because it might lead to widespread bank runs.

Democrats and other populists are going to blame greed and deregulation. Never let a crisis go to waste. CNN’s Manu Raju is already prowling the hallways of Congress setting this narrative by asking senators like Manchin if they regret voting for the 2018 Dodd-Frank “roll back” — which has nothing to do with the SVB run — rather than asking him if he regrets voting for trillions in new spending in an overcharged economy. Media hackery can have serious consequences.

SVB and Signature Bank — another failed bank — were heavy investors in crypto, green energy, tech start-ups, and IPOs with unrealized profits. Comfort with risk is a vital part of the American finance system. It separates us from other nations as top innovators and entrepreneurs. But is it really “risk” if certain types of investors can never lose? If SVB’s 40,000 accounts aren’t made whole, will it lead to contagion? And if big banks come in and white knight regional ones, aren’t we only making too-big-to-fail bigger, and injecting even more moral hazard into our system?

Those are complex questions. But one of the biggest reasons we find ourselves here is clear: a lack of basic governing competence.-David Harsanyi, The Federalist

Perfect cartoon!

Lisa and her group of righties are so predictable. Always whining about the dollar when their hands are not touching it.

Talk about higher spending republicans don’t realize that 7 trillion tax cuts [for the rich] is the same as spending 7 trillion that only goes to the rich [helps no one else] but is worse because of lost revenue. So add that on top of trump’s massive cash spending and he has set a new record that will be hard to beat until the next GQP president and congress wins power.